• Buffalo's four losses this season are by a total of 18 points. Their two MAC losses are by a total of four points.

• The Bulls are averaging 9.7 points in the first quarter of games this season and have posted first-quarter points in every game. They scored 10 points in the first quarter all of last year.

• Khalil Hodge leads the nation in tackles, averaging 14.4 tackles per game. He has had four games of 17+ tackles this season (20 at Minnesota/17 vs. FAU/18 vs. Western Michigan/19 vs. Northern Illinois).

• Anthony Johnson leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the nation in receiving yards with 771 on the season.

• Over the past two games, the Bulls have posted seven pass plays of 40+ yards. The seven plays involved six different receivers.

• After having only three sacks over the first four games, the Bulls have recorded eight sacks in the last three games.

• If Kyle Vantrease starts at quarterback for the Bulls, he'll be the first true freshman QB to start for Buffalo since Drew Willy in 2005.

Bulls on the Road to Face Miami (OH) on Saturday
The University at Buffalo football team will hit the road for the first of two straight road games when the Bulls play at Miami (OH) on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulls are 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the MAC and are coming off a 14-13 loss to Northern Illinois last Saturday. The Bulls were led by Khalil Hodge who had 19 tackles in the game and helped hold the Huskies to a season-low 14 points.

Miami is 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the MAC and is coming off a 17-14 loss to Kent State last Saturday. The RedHawks are led by wide receiver James Gardner who has 29 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

Miami leads the all-time series, 13-6. The RedHawks won the last meeting, 35-24, at UB Stadium last season.

Big Play Bulls
Through seven games, the Bulls have recorded 13 plays of 45 or more yards. This is a stark difference from a season ago when Buffalo had only five plays of 45+ yards all year.

What's more, the plays have been coming from a number of different players. The 13 45+-yard plays have come from nine different players.

Junior wide receiver Anthony Johnson has played a major role in this as he has made a big play in four different games. He had a 50-yard catch at Minnesota, a 52-yard catch at Army, a 46-yard grab against Colgate, a 53-yard catch against Western Michigan and a 47-yard reception against Northern Illinois.

Sack Lunch
The UB defense has been dialing up the pressure in recent weeks. Over the last three games, the Bulls have registered eight sacks. UB only had three sacks over the first four games of the year. The eight sacks have come from five different players. Demone Harris, Chuck Harris and Khalil Hodge each had two and Jordan Collier and Kadofi Wright both had one.

AJ Can PlayAnthony Johnson is only seven games into his career at Buffalo, but is already being mentioned in the same breath as some of UB's all-time greats. Johnson leads the Bulls with 44 catches for 771 yards and five touchdowns. His yardage total leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the nation.

He has already had two 11-catch games on the season. He is just the second player in school history with multiple games of 11+ catches. Drew Haddad (1996-99) had three games with 11+ catches over his four-year career.

Johnson has three games of 140+ receiving yards already this season.

Hodge BallKhalil Hodge leads the MAC and the nation in tackles, averaging 14.4 tackles per game.

Hodge is one of only two players in the nation with over 100 tackles on the season (101). The junior linebacker already has four games with over 17 tackles - 20 vs. Minnesota, 17 vs. FAU, 18 vs. Western Michigan and 19 vs. Northern Illinois.

Against Minnesota, the junior linebacker recorded a career-high 20 tackles. It was the most tackles in a game by a UB player since Davonte Shannon had 20 against Army in 2008.

Twice this season, Hodge has been named the MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week - on Sept. 4 and Oct. 16.

He has also had double-digit tackle performances against Army (11) and Florida Atlantic (17), Kent State (11), Western Michigan (18) and Northern Illinois (19).

Last season, Hodge had 123 tackles – the eighth-most in school history for a single season. He ranked seventh in the nation, averaging 10.25 tackles per game. Hodge was an All-MAC Second Team selection in 2016.

Off to a Good Start
A season ago, the Bulls scored a total of 10 points in the first quarter of games. This year, Buffalo has gotten off to much better starts, scoring in the first quarter of every game so far. The Bulls have scored a total of 68 points in the first quarter of games this season.

The Bulls are averaging 9.7 points in the first quarter of games this year. They have posted first-quarter points in every game this season and have scored at least 14 points in the first quarter in three of the last five games.

Against Colgate, UB scored 20 points in the first quarter, the most it scored in the first quarter of a game since scoring 21 at Temple in 2007.

Oh, What A Night
Buffalo's game vs. Western Michigan will go down as one of the most memorable games in UB football history. The Broncos defeated the Bulls, 71-68, in seven overtimes.

Here are a few numbers from that record-setting night.
• Total elapsed time: 4:31
• The 139 combined points were the most in FBS history
• The score was 40-37 after regulation ended and would have been the 7th-highest-scoring game in the nation, just on overtime points alone.
• 19 touchdowns scored by both teams
• 10 lead changes, counting overtime
• Buffalo's 9 TDs were the most in school history
• 683 total yards of offense were the most in school history
• UB had four pass plays of 53 yards or longer
• Buffalo's 68 points were the most in NCAA history by a losing team.

Have A Day, DrewDrew Anderson had one of the finest games in not only school history, but ever in the Mid-American Conference. The junior signal-caller threw for a school-record 597 yards and seven touchdowns and added another touchdown on the ground in a 71-68 seven-overtime loss to Western Michigan on Oct. 7. Anderson's 597 passing yards were not only a school record, but also the most for a single game in MAC history. His seven touchdowns also tied the single-game MAC record. Anderson completed 35-of-61 pass attempts and didn't throw a single interception. The junior quarterback had four completions of 53 yards or more in the game and threw touchdown passes of 64, 8, 54, 5, 25, 4 and 27 yards. He also added a 2-yard touchdown run in the sixth overtime to extend the game.

Anderson was named the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week, one of the Manning Award Stars of the Week and a Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award's "Great 8" performer.

Offensive Line Named to Joe Moore Award Mid-Season Watch List
Buffalo's offensive line has been impressive all season and has gotten better as the year has progressed. The Bulls have run 214 pass plays on the season and have only allowed 9 sacks - second-lowest in the MAC.

The o-line was one of 16 teams named to the Joe Moore Award Mid-Season Watch List. It's an award given to the nation's best offensive line unit. In addition, PFF College Football lists UB center James O'Hagan as the nation's top center when it comes not allowing a quarterback pressure.

100 x 3
For the first time in school history the Bulls had three different players go over 100 yards receiving in the same game when they played Western Michigan on Oct. 7. Anthony Johnson had 11 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns; Kamathi Holsey had six receptions for 143 yards and a score and K.J. Osborn had seven catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns.
Reed All About It

Emmanuel Reed is having a breakout season for the Bulls. The sophomore running had three straight 100-yard rushing performances. He rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown against Colgate; 107 yards against Florida Atlantic and 144 yards and three scores at Kent State - the latter two were as a starter.

Reed was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance against Kent State.

Charles in ChargeChuck Harris is making the most of his first season as a starter. The junior defensive end ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 42. He has easily surpassed his season total of 18 tackles over 12 games in 2016.

Harris has posted at least five tackles in all seven games this season. He had a career-high eight tackles at Army on Sept. 9. He has recorded a sack in two of the last three games.

Roberts Named Semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
Senior safety Tim Roberts has been named a semifinalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation announced on Sept. 27. Considered by many to be the "Academic Heisman," the Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

Roberts is a social science interdisciplinary major with a 3.68 grade point average. A second-year starter for the Bulls, he ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 22, including a tackle for loss. For his career, Roberts has 94 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

Of the 181 semifinalists, Roberts is one of 71 from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and one of eight from the Mid-American Conference.

A History of Running Backs
If he can keep up his current pace, Emmanuel Reed could be the next UB running back to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season. The Bulls have featured 1,000-yard running backs in six of the last 10 seasons, including three of their last four. Prior to 2007, UB had only three 1,000-yard rushers in the history of the program.

O'Hagan Named to Rimington Trophy Watch ListJames O'Hagan was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List. The award is giving annually to the nation's top center. This is the second straight year UB's junior center has been named to the watch list.

O'Hagan is coming off the best season of his career. He started all 12 games of 2016 and was named All-MAC Third Team. O'Hagan has been the anchor of the Bulls' offensive over the past two season, starting all 24 games.

Mitch Perfect
Kicker Adam Mitcheson was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Special Teams Player of the Week after a solid performance in Buffalo's win over Florida Atlantic.

Mitcheson made both of his field goal attempts in the victory. The junior kicker made a 23-yarder as time expired in the first half to tie the game at 17. He then made a clutch 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. His season-long field goal extended the UB lead to 27-17 with 10:54 left in the game. Mitcheson was also a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points in the game.

Fake News

For the second straight season, the Bulls will play every game on artificial turf. Buffalo is one of 18 teams that will play all its games on artificial turf this season. Ohio State, Washington State, Kansas State, Wyoming, Utah State, Air Force, UNLV, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Miami (Ohio), Western Kentucky, Charlotte, UT-San Antonio, Arkansas State, Idaho and Coastal Carolina will also play all of its games on turf.

Bulls Add Grad Transfer from Cal

Defensive end Kennedy Emesibe has joined the team as a graduate transfer. Emesibe joined the Bulls after spending three seasons with the Cal Bears. Emesibe was a reserve defensive end for the Bears after a standout high school career in which he was ranked the 35th best defensive end in the nation his senior season.

The UB football team features a pair of players related to two of the top five picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. Junior wide receiver Anthony Johnson is the cousin of top pick Jadeveon Clowney. Junior linebacker Ledarius Mack is the younger brother of former UB All-American and fifth pick Khalil Mack.

On The Airwaves

Again this season, University at Buffalo football can be heard locally on ESPN 1520, a 50,000-watt station with one of the strongest signals in the nation. The Bulls can also be heard on 1280 AM in Rochester.

Calling all the play-by-play action of Bulls football for his 18th year, and 10th consecutive, will be Paul Peck. Scott Wilson will serve as analyst after previously serving as sideline reporter. Brad Riter also returns as game host.

Again this season, the UB Football postgame show will take place at Santora's on Millersport with host Bob Gaughan.

Peck hosts the UB Football Insider with Lance Leipold on Monday nights at 5:30 pm. The show air on ESPN 1520 and be broadcast live from the Santora's Transit Road location.